My Running Feet
by b-tothe-itch
Summary: Allen Walker might just end the war with his new acquaintance. If only she wasn't so pissy. OCs, rated T for potty mouthing and extreme molestation of the F key  and some gore . No pairings.
1. In the Jordan

Well, it was pretty damn hot out. Down east where they weren't supposed to be, three clergymen had shed their fancy Exorcist coats and were wandering around… almost aimlessly, probably. One stood tall over the others, sharp red hair contrasting greatly with his attire. Another paced a few feet ahead of the other two, looking for a puppy to kick. The third boy had probably bleached his hair.

"Yuu~, I said sorry! Can't we just kiss and make up?" The redhead direly attempted to get the girly-boy's attention, possibly at the risk of his bal—, "AH NO! I said woops! DAMN!" The girly-boy put his sword back.

"You really fucked up this time, Lavi," Allen droned quietly. The killjoy with a sword snorted his agreement, hefting his coat higher on his shoulder. The trio was rapidly gaining the attention of the villagers they walked past, who sent more than just glances in their direction.

Lavi puffed out his chest a little, almost like a humiliated pigeon. "'S'not my fault I haven't been over here before, usually we just head straight to Algeria and go wherever from there." Their orders had requested they go to Istanbul to fight off a rumoured beast that had been terrorizing the people. Coffee-man had said they should check to see if Innocence was involved. All three were going because they were bored. It's apparently not easy being awesome.

The cursed boy ruffled up at the excuse. "Lavi Bookman Junior, it really should not be entirely difficult to— oh I dunno- pull out a freakin' map!" The redhead almost guffawed at how great Allen looked trying to act mean (at 3" 9'), but he didn't want to seem too rude…

"Short stuff," he muttered instead.

"WHAT WAS THAT, FUCKTARD?"

"NUHHHHTHING!"

"STFU."

"Okay, Yuu!" And so for the most part they just ignored each other for the next 5 minutes or something, until someone came up with a bright idea. "Wait, shouldn't we go back to Istanbul?"

"Are you sure we won't just pass over it this time?" Allen grumbled.

"I said oopsie! Godamn, you guys hold pretty nasty grudges," Lavi itched his neck absently. "And anyway, I know where we are now, so I can count how many miles from here to where we need to head to."

Kanda looked back at him dubiously, "Then where are we, pricket?" Bookman Junior mauled over the new nickname (The deer? Or is it like prick and then cricket? That's just confusing :S) and then answered. "Jordan, o'course!" Now people really were looking at them weirdly.

Other than the three exorcists, everyone's gazes either turned back to their work or back down the road where they had passed. Allen and Kanda failed to notice the redhead fall flat on his face until he spat out dirt and yelled, "Gotta loose tooth now, kid!" Both males looked up in time to see a short-ish girl with dusty white capris run past them, almost not sparing a glance at the befuddled Lavi.

When she did, she yelled back, "Sorry Mister Mister!" Bucktooth was positive he saw a cat tailing her before they both took a turn around the corner. He groaned dejectedly as he momentarily felt the blood pooling in his mouth before he stood. He spat to the side of the road, hoping no one minded stepping in that… aw hell, they probably would.

Girly-boy looked pretty damn pleased with himself for some reason. "Wanna follow her, bunny-boy?"

Said bunny-boy scrubbed his chin thoughtfully before giving the negative. "I don't want her chipping off the other block, yeah." Allen leaned forward curiously.

"I dunno, I thought I heard music from wherever she's going. We could check it out…," he trailed off when he saw Kanda's minute glare. "What! I was just saying."

Lavi got in on it too. "Yeah Yuu, it won't take THAT long, probably…," he hesitated. The swordsman almost had his fingertips at the hilt. "Oh stop that, you're just PMSing 'cuz it's so hot out and you're wearing black!"

Cue dying rabbit sequence.

….

Okay it's over now, you can look.

"Five minutes, booger-brains. I'll be leaning inconspicuously against that… barrel over there," and with that the fema—TEENAGER went to lean up against the aforementioned barrel. The remaining exorcists shrugged, skipping off to where the music was coming from. They stopped skipping when they came to the intersection where the girl had turned, but they were still pretty proud of their accomplishment of getting away from Yuu. (pfft, some accomplishment)

They turned the corner and continued down the dusty path, which ran along a field for as far as they could see. On the other side of the path to their left were more huts. The white haired boy got impatient and started jogging up the road, and soon both of them were running to see the source of a peculiar bonging sound.

Over a small hill in the field, they finally found where the girl had undoubtedly run off to. Any kid in the vicinity probably would have run here, too. Contrasting extremely to the greenery of the field was a circus site. They still looked to be preparing for the performances, but many natives were gathering around a huge wooden platform to catch the beginning.

Bookman Junior felt more than saw the sparks igniting in the other boy's eyes. "C-Can we, Lavi?" Ah, that was weird.

He shrugged tauntingly, "It's what we came for, right?" He was so sure, SO SURE Allen would squeal right then, but alas, that would be a little out of character. However, the passion for circus artistry burned in his eyes as he took one step, then launched towards the field without considering the dust that consequently flew into Lavi's eyes. Not that it mattered, he totally deserved it. Stupid Rabbit, flying them RIGHT OVER Istanbul and failing to notice. (I said SOOOOORRY, DAMMIT!) Dumbass.

So yeah, Allen trotted towards the platform, only half-trying not to draw attention to himself. When he was a little more than half way there, the bonging sound stopped on one strong note, and both hurried to not miss anything.

When they got there, they tried not to interrupt the man speaking, probably introducing the performance. He was saying a lot more than Allen thought he should be, so he caught Lavi's attention with a tug on his shirt.

"Hey Lav, what's he saying?" He whispered respectfully, hoping people didn't mind the small noise. Everyone else was ignoring them, but there were still some who eyed the pale boys like the tick on a whale.

The redhead turned his head a little to hear better before answering. "Aw hell, that's Arabic. Uhhh, blah blah 'giving out refreshments'," Allen's stomach grumbled acknowledgement, "'then we will show the swingers and animal acts. Please take pleasure.' I guess he means 'enjoy'," Bookman Junior interpreted as someone started on a different drum. Allen was slightly disappointed that they missed the start of the announcement, but his tummy was happy they would be getting food. Screw Kanda, he'd stay until the food!

First up was an odd sort of marching transition, with instruments from different regions tunnelling out from the tent behind the platform. Lavi sat through it semi-interested, surprised that he had heard most of the sounds before. Allen was near completely captivated, although he became more so with the clowns. Most of them were pale enough to pull off the white make-up, but some he could tell were more tanned, where it showed at their necks and knuckles.

The clown act ended rather disappointingly when children up front started pinching the floppy shoes on one of the taller actors. They were ushered off-stage before anyone else could trip over the lasting domino effect the kids had caused. Everyone started peeling off for refreshments before the swingers, so the two exorcists went to grab something, too. What they didn't expect was to run chin first into Kanda. Or in Allen's case, face first ^-^

"YO HOMEDAW—uh, booger-brains, I SAID 5 MINUTES, RIGHT?" O damn, you know when he greets you gangsta you gotsta run. While Lavi's chin cowered desperately, the shorter boy (I HEARD that, you TERD!) stepped up to the swordsman.

"C'mon, Queen Kan, can't we just see the cute animals first?" His lower lip trembled as he attempted to pull off a successful puppy-dog look. Which crash-landed fantastically!

"Che, with is with your face? You having a stroke, short-stack?" The Bookman apprentice laughed into Allen's back as his expression dulled into its normal features. He scowled unpleasantly while smacking Lavi's face off of his shirt. "And no, we need to get this damn mission over with so I can killadude, or whatever that trend is with you children these days." Yuu stalked away arrogantly, hoping they were following him. And just so he could keep up his macho-man look, he planned on stomping all the way to the barrel without looking back.

"Well that was way easy," Lavi concluded as they made their way back to their spots after getting a few armfuls of snacks. The white haired boy nodded vigorously, munching urgently on a loaf of bread. As the intermission ended, the redhead unnecessarily translated the introductions before the tent opened again.

The swinger act was pretty long and uh… pretty goddamn dreadful. They fucked up so much, even the kids were leaving. Then they scrammed, and the gagging stopped altogether. "Ah, that was dumb," the redhead sighed. A sort of silence befell them as they realized which act was coming up. All at once, the viewers near the front were muttering to each other and pushing back towards the exorcists to give space between them and the platform.

A dark growl exited the flaps of the tent, effectively shutting up any stray talkers. Out of the tent stalked a massive male lion, its muscles rippling under the golden pelt. Some of the kids started asking what it was, having been too young to know. The adults and exorcists, however, were more aware of the lion's levelling stare. A brief moment of silence passed before the king growled an affirmative. At that point, a pair of pure Siberian tigers trotted lazily through the flaps of the tent, with the girl from earlier between them.

The exorcists' eyes unfortunately betrayed their astonishment. Allen found his mouth no longer closed, but not completely gaping like he would have expected it to. Lavi, however, looked ridiculously mystified. Like, fishy-fishy mystified. Where-did-my-jaw-go mystified.

On the girl's shoulders hung her silver tabby that they had seen following her, looking completely unperturbed with the entire performance. A swarm of exotic looking birds flew out a few moments later, a particularly colorful one coming in to land on the lion's great head. The cat shook its mane half-heartedly, drawing out a near-silent laugh from the Bookman apprentice. To his horror, the cat switched his challenging gaze to him. Everything told him to look away, but when he didn't, the king's eyes gained an amused hue to them.

Allen hadn't expected any elephants to come out, but an ox couple was even less anticipated. They meandered out of the tent after the tigers had chosen opposing spots on the platform, all facing the audience, which had remained increasingly quiet throughout. The ox paused behind the leader girl, and everyone appeared to be in formation. She was still wearing the same clothing as before, not even bothering to impress. The capris hung loosely around her legs, almost like curtains, while her dusty yellow tank top was equally slack on her shoulders and neck. The silver cat—slightly oversized, they noticed—acted almost as a neck warmer as it flicked its tail in interest.

Everyone but the performers started in surprise as the birds began calling in each of their unique tongues. Feathers flew every which way when they took to the air, hovering in an eccentric configuration a few feet above the platform. The ox made a low droning sound that lasted a few seconds before the girl's cat mewed, which ended the drone, but only signaled the next move.

On the cat's cue, the lion and tigers launched into the air. Unsuspecting viewers toppled backwards into each other, but never looked away from the creatures. As they watched, the birds dived down and looped under the cats, some staying above to act as 'prey'. The big cats never actually hit a bird, but they were making swiping gestures, pretending to hunt them. As soon as they landed on the ground, their legs sprung them up once again. And once again, the 'prey' dived down and under them, some teasingly flapping out of reach of the cats' paws.

After awhile of this, Allen was amazed to discover that the tigers and king were no longer touching back down with their forepaws. They looked for all the world to see like they were humans frantically attempting to catch evading stars.

All too soon, the cat managed to ring one of the ox bells with its tail, indicating the end of the hunt. The ox acted as heralds, proclaiming their departure. The leader girl mounted one of the ox—the male—and they led the way back into the tent. At the last minute, they saw her cat clamber from her shoulders and scramble onto the second ox, as did the birds. The tigers sauntered through the flap side by side, followed by the king, who exited with a last warning growl, the one bird still atop his head.


	2. Say What Now?

IMPORTANT A/N: So okay, maybe I should be doing a few insy-bitsy comments to explain crap. This story is a cross between Humor and Adventure. That means there WILL be funny bunnies popping up and slapping you in the face occasionally. The characters may not even seem in character. This is NOT an entirely serious story. When it is serious is where the Adventure part comes in. Last chapter was just basically a humor vent/piece of shit, or maybe it was a summary of the setting. Either way, this chappie is where stuff gets rollinggg~

Disclaimer of Doom: I don't know anything! ... Or own, I lack owness of the DGM characters. But I do own everyone else.

* * *

><p>In their state of disillusionment, the two boys were the last ones to begin clapping. There was no cheering, but Lavi could hear praise and wonder in the applaud. When everything died down and people were beginning to leave the grounds, a bean sprout grew an idea.<p>

"Hey Lav, what if we met her? She'd recognize us, too, 'cuz she called you Mister," Allen reasoned. I never said he could reason _well._

Bookman Junior paused, looking like he would consider the idea. "… Naw, let's find Yuu-lass and get to Istanbul. I need some real food up in here."

"But-," the white haired boy began to protest, but was knocked flat on his face. (AHAHAAAAA, NOICE!) Before she could get away this time, Lavi grabbed the girl as she tried to swerve past. "Augh, train, train hit me, hit me right here," Allen felt up the back of his head before dropping back down again. The redhead raised his eyebrow curiously at him before holding the girl out in front of him.

She was looking at him rather unimpressed, if I do say so myself. "Um, hey Mister Mister. Could you maybe make like a banana and getcher hands off now?" She pinched at her shirt expectantly with her arms crossed, waiting for him to leave.

He blinked slowly. Make like a what now...? "We were in the audience, Allen wanted to meet you," he gestured to the face drop.

The girl looked at him amusedly. "Ehm, I think we met... a second ago. Don't worry All-en, a broken nose doesn't take that long to fix up." She made to leave, but Lavi held her in place.

"So wait, what's your name?" He knew that would never hold her, and was right when she looked at him quizzically.

"Are you one of those rapists that asks peoples' names-,"

"No, no I'm not a uh… rapist," he sweatdropped. Yeah, not a rapist. (How convincing!)

"Good. Now move, bitch!" Her shirt was tugged backwards as her cat hastily made its way up her back, leaping into Lavi's face from the girl's shoulder. The apprentice shouted in surprise as it stuck its claws into the back of his head, its belly flat across his entire face. After awhile he realized it wasn't moving, and began complaining instead. Allen laughed at him throatily, considering his nose was still throbbing.

After a few moments, she took back her cat and slung it over her shoulder, where it burrowed comfortably into her neck. "Name's Anya, strangers. What about the rapist?" Lavi introduced himself, while explaining that he was not actually a rapist (no kidding). Allen eventually caught up on the conversation too.

"How do you get them to do that stuff?" He asked incredulously. All the animal acts he'd seen were jumping through hoops and standing on each other, but not actual, coordinated movement.

"I suggested the idea and they uhh… I guess they put their own twist on things? I dunno, I was just standing there with Kitty," the redhead glared at the cat, who spat lazily back at him.

Now Allen was curious. "You suggested the idea? I mean did you have to train them or anything?" Anya snorted as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I just told them my idea, and all they said to do was stand in the middle," she eventually got over her amusement. The exorcists stared at her incredulously. 'They told her to'? Did she mean the guys who ran the show? Or the animals? Lavi put the inquiry into words.

Anya shied up right then, noticing her mistake. She mumbled almost silently, "The uh… the animals…?" (CUE MALODRAMATIC FAINTING!)

The shorter boy stood slowly. "So you can talk to them?" He really didn't want to scare her away, which looked like what would happen, unfortunately. She nodded subtly, trying to position her footing differently. She was going to break for it, and they would never see her again. (EVER)

The Bookman apprentice started a sentence, and at that point in time, she pushed off on her toes and skated past him. Kitty was digging in her claws for the ride, so she quickly grabbed the tabby and held her to her chest securely. She sprinted past lingering couples and families, hearing the two boys trying to call out to her. She got to the dirt path and kept running, flying past the huts as she neared the corner where she would turn onto the main road. Before she got there, she rammed headlong into some shmexy's chest. Kitty hopped out at the last minute, avoiding the impact.

"Grab her, Yuu!" The man scooped her up from under her arms, swerving her back around while she lashed at him violently. She thought she felt his weight shift, and took advantage of it by kicking back into his crotch. It didn't work as well as she thought, but she followed it up by swinging her legs up, curling them around his head and pulling forward. They both tumbled onto the road, but when she tried to run for it again, Lavi caught up to them and pinned her down.

"RAPE! RAAAAAPE! Wait no, FIRE! FIRE!" Yeah, who would want to see someone get raped.

The redhead really didn't want to get anyone's attention… not in this position (strike!). "No no no, shhhh! We just wanted to know—"

"MIKEL! ISAIAH! HELLOOOOO? Fire over here!" The swordsman thought of smacking his face in exasperation… naw, too beautiful. Allen tried asking her nicely to be quiet, people were probably taking their afternoon naps! She tried calling the cat over, but it kept its distance, mewling loudly. Anya grew impatient, finally settling down and asking, "Okay, jeezus! Whaduyu want!"

The shorter exorcist answered eagerly, "We think you might have something called Innocence that helps you talk to the animals." Anya glared at him at the corner of her eye, since she was still barely eating dirt.

"Yes of course I still have my virginity, you loada shitfaces! What the hell does that have to do with anything!" Kanda smacked his face.

Lavi stumbled to explain. "No uhhh, Innocence is like a special power! Yeah! Except it chooses who to go to, and not a lot of people have it," he scratched at his chin uncertainly. Anya gave him a 'sounds fabulous!' look. She seemed to hear something because her head snapped around, looking towards the corner house.

As she expected, a few moments later she saw two boys burst off of the main road, dashing towards them. The exorcists looked up in surprise, not actually anticipating anyone to come at them so fast. Anya cheered the two on like they were princes arriving to save her (where's the irony?). As one of them pulled ahead, she saw the man named Yuu pull something out of his belt-thing. As she realized what it was, she quickly tried to avoid the oncoming brawl.

"Wait, Issy stop!" The boy in front skidded to a stop just as the man brought down his sword. The weapon kept coming down before they saw a white blur, and Mugen's target was evaded. Allen held up Kanda's arm, trembling at the effort of using his weaker limb. After a minute, the swordsman 'tsked' at the contact, jerking his arm away.

The younger exorcist turned to the boy still sitting in the dirt, who was trembling just a little. Anya struggled out from under Lavi's weight. As soon as she was up, she kicked at the Yuu guy's crotch again. While he was still recovering from a combination of both kicks (gosh, I feel a little guilty), Anya scrambled forward to fling her arms around Isaiah's stomach. Mikel, who'd been standing a little ways off to avoid the sword, joined the other two when the girl came to them.

After a brief greeting, Anya jerked her head towards Kanda, who was now standing semi-awkwardly with the exorcists. "Stupid fuckface! What the hell is with you, threatnin' my Issy," she seethed at him, still hanging onto the other kid.

"Anyone who keeps me from doing my job is a threat," he retorted unkindly. The dusty girl made a sound in her throat then took a spit at his boots. It was a little off-mark, but it made him sneer in disgust.

"And I'm not Issy," the boy hissed at her.

The other kid—Mikel, if Allen remembered right—made his presence known by stepping forward uncertainly. "What's your job, then? What does it have to do with Anya?" The Bookman apprentice barely recognized the accent from when he'd visited Cameroon.

Allen knew that if she was the accommodator of an Innocence, Anya would need to come with them. They didn't want to get on her bad side or they would have to force her into the Order. "We are exorcists, whose job is to fight demons called Akuma. To do that, we're trying to find people who have something called Innocence to fight them. We think Anya might have Innocence with her," the white haired boy tried his hand at explaining again.

He watched the three kids' expressions change, from confusion and dismay, to annoyance and exasperation on Anya's part. Mikel looked at Anya expectantly, asking for interpretation. She began speaking to both of them in a hushed whisper, and Lavi struggled to hear. When he realized she was speaking in French, he began thinking out the sentences in his mind.

She was saying, "…**want me to go fight monsters, I don't want to! They can do this shit themselves.**"

Isaiah spoke up hesitantly. "**But shouldn't you go? They need the people like you, right?"**

Anya narrowed her eyes, glancing back at the older boys. She had long since left Isaiah to himself, sitting huddled near them to converse the idea of leaving with the exorcists. "**What, no! One less 'soldier' won't do them any harm**," she pronounced stubbornly. Lavi chose that moment to interrupt, speaking to them in fluent French.

"**But you're one of the only soldiers in our war! We can't exactly hope to win without the power you might have**," he added pleadingly. It didn't exactly sound like begging, but he tried to make it sound convincing to them. Mikel nodded gravely, to Anya's disappointment.

As a last resort, she accused, "B-but I'll have to leave them! So no!" Allen's brow twitched curiously.

"Are they your family, then?" She nodded dutifully to back up her point.

"Mikel and Isaiah are my big brothers. Kitty and Yani are cats, and there is also the animals at the show, I don't want to leave them," she defended. He was surprised she didn't mention any parents, but did not doubt that she probably didn't have any.

The young exorcist reasoned, "You don't have to leave your brothers or cats, our Headquarters is big enough for everyone. Although I'm not sure about the other animals, shouldn't you be able to talk to them without being there?" Anya furrowed her brow a bit.

"Well sure, but it won't be the same… They'll have to get another leader, probably," she looked at Mikel for support. He raised his eyebrow at her, looking unimpressed at her excuses. She bit her lip nervously before blurting out, "Okay fine! I'll go as long as I can bring them," she pointed blatantly at her brothers.

Allen nodded agreement, grinning as Anya tackled Isaiah to the ground again to give a proper greeting. While they were laughing it out at his feet, Mikel quickly walked over to Lavi.

"We will need to pack, will you come with us?" He affirmed the inquiry.

"Yeah, but pack only what you need. We can give you clothes and food at our headquarters, and you can bring small personal items." When Mikel nodded in understanding, Lavi continued. "If it is possible, we would also like to try finding Anya's Innocence, if it turns out to be an object. Although I doubt it."

The three agreed to those terms, and began leading the way home. By this time, the sun was heading into a 4:00 position in the sky, but it was not getting much darker at all. Anya grew impatient as they turned onto the main road, jeering at Mikel for a race. As they took positions in the middle of the road, Isaiah trotted ahead and got their attention, counting down dramatically.

"Trois, deux, un, aller, _aller_!" The siblings shot up and sprinted down the road. Their speed could have been on par with their own, the exorcists noticed. Anya was pulling ahead as far as they knew, but then they were too far up the street to see. Isaiah gestured for the boys to speed up a little, and he started running ahead of them. Lavi and Allen willingly followed, and Kanda eventually went, too.

They tailed Isaiah for about a mile or so before stopping at one of the huts, which had the door left open. Anya met them at the opening, smirked, then went back in and grabbed something. While his eyes were still adjusting to the dimly lit room, the girl shoved a tan colored satchel into Allen's unsuspecting arms.

She held it there for a few seconds before letting go. "Don't drop him now, he's got some head bug he's trying to get over," she talked while scavenging around under some clothes. The white haired exorcist blinked slowly, suddenly realizing who was in the bag. His suspicions were proven correct when he lifted up the flap, where slept a lean male Savannah cat.

Mikel had already finished up with his bagging and was sitting off to the side, writing on a small parchment. Anya was stuffing equipment for the cats in a small string bag, and when it was full she pulled it closed and looped a towel under the straps. All that was left was Isaiah, and he was finished after grabbing a few knick-knacks and dropping them into a rather worn looking cloth bag.

"I guess we can go now," Anya pulled back a few frizzy locks, slinging the bag around her neck and under her arm. Lavi nodded a few times, leading them out into the sun again. Isaiah passed them by, crossing the road with the paper folded into his hand. "Oh, uhh," the girl awkwardly excused herself, quickly following after her brother who walked towards another hut. Isaiah went with them too, leaving the exorcists to wonder what to do. After a moment, they too trailed the siblings.

Mikel knocked on the wood next to the doorframe a few times, and then withdrew to wait for an answer. When no one came out after twenty or so seconds, he rapped on the wood again. Still, no one responded. His brow slowly furrowed and he got ready to knock again, but Anya held him back.

"She's not here Mimi, you know how fast she usually comes," his sister reasoned pleadingly. The older boy creased his brow further, facing the door with a slightly distressed look on his face. He put his hand to the frame, kneeling down to slip the note in through a crack in the door. Lavi didn't want to ruin their moods with questions, so he just walked back onto the road where the swordsman had stayed. Isaiah was the first to follow, and eventually his brother and sister met with them.

The redhead decided to break the ice with an explanation. "We originally meant to go to Istanbul for a mission, but we passed over it instead. We have our stuff at a hotel near there, so we can either go directly there or to our mission," he waited for them to pick what they favoured. Anya, while hugging Mikel's arm, picked the hotel. Her family agreed, the eldest doing so in a more distracted manner.

"So uhm, how are we getting there again?" Anya spoke for Isaiah's puzzled expression. Kanda made a sound of impatience, glaring down the street that stretched out beside them. Allen elbowed him helpfully, not flinching a bit when he heard Mugen slide minimally along the sheath. The trio looked at Lavi expectantly.

"Well, you see this?" He pulled his hammer from his belt, holding it out for them to look. "This is the form my Innocence takes. It can grow and extend whenever I tell it to. It's going to take us to where we need to go." The girl laughed out her amazement, reaching out to tap at the metal. For amusement's sake, Lavi extended the rod a few inches at the moment she touched it, making her howl even more. Even Mikel was laughing quietly, and Isaiah snorted loudly at her.

The white haired exorcist saw the silver tabby crouching some ways away. He pointed her out to the others, and Isaiah scrambled off to grab her before they went. Lavi took the time to check out where they were going on the pocket-sized map he had forgotten to look at before. He figured they could be at their destination about four hours from then, if nothing went amiss. He extended the hammer a few feet before setting it down in their lawn, gesturing for them to get on. Isaiah ran up eagerly, having stuffed the tabby into his shirt for the time being. The others eventually got on too, and after a warning from the redhead, they took off.

Almost immediately, the younger exorcist had to activate his Innocence to keep their new companions from falling off. Mikel seemed to have a rather good hold on his bearings, but his siblings found themselves laughing as they hung upside down on the hammer. Anya was the first to reluctantly pull herself right side up, still gasping with laughter. Allen's claw heaved up Isaiah by the torso, and he gratefully balanced himself out.

No one talked over the remainder of the trip. They wouldn't have been able to anyway, unless they wanted to yell out their conversation over the wind. They hadn't seen Istanbul through the lowering clouds, but dull city lights signaled the end of their voyage. The hammer suddenly started lowering, even though they were miles from the city. Anya voiced her confusion, leaning closer to Lavi so he could hear.

"Allen's probably getting tired, and there's also the fact that it would look weird if we dropped in on a hammer," she felt a little dumb afterwards. Although she didn't know why Allen would be tired—they were only just sitting here. And what the hell was that claw?

The apprentice found a clearing a few hundred meters from the town, gradually dropping down until their feet met the grass. The metal rod instantly lurched to the side as the white haired boy deactivated his weapon, rolling off into the grass exhaustedly. They all got off so the redhead could get back his hammer. When it was back to its regular size, he tucked it back into his belt, walking leisurely towards Allen. The boy sat panting in the grass, trembling with the effort of holding himself up.

"What's up with him?" Anya couldn't help but feel a little guilty, probably because she thought she knew what the answer would be.

Lavi spoke up for him. "Since Allen's Innocence is part of his body, it takes more energy to keep it activated. And he just spent the whole trip holding you guys up." Ah, that bites.

"So wait, was that claw thing his Innocence?" Kanda tsked again, starting to walk towards the town impatiently. Bookman Junior hurriedly slung the exorcist's arm over his shoulder, but pulled him up a little too quickly, much to the boy's protest. Allen grunted noticeably, catching Anya's attention as they began trailing after the swordsman.

"Basically. His arm is where the Innocence is, but… you know what, it's too confusing," the other three agreed. Allen muttered to himself dejectedly, a bit exasperated with how they were talking about him when he was right there. The satchel hanging around his neck squirmed a bit before it stopped moving again.

The sun sat lower in the sky, with the time showing about 8 in the evening. Isaiah pulled out the other cat from his shirt, which struck an idea for Lavi. "Hey Beany, how do you think Tim will like our new friends?"

Allen had to think a moment before paling. "Oh, poor Tim," he breathed. The redhead laughed at his expression before facing forward again. As sleepy as they were, the three siblings didn't ask who they were talking about. They'd probably find out soon enough, anyway.

Their company eventually caught up with the swordsman as he was entering the inn, and Anya had to catch the door when it almost slammed in their faces.

"Asshole," she muttered heatedly. Kanda glanced back at her with a narrowed glare, but refused to mouth off. They headed back up to the rooms they had booked before leaving, and in the hallway they made arrangements. They would all order dinner to Allen's room, which was easily decided. Lavi proposed Mikel would sleep in Kanda's room, Isaiah in Allen's, and Anya in his own quarters.

"Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this?" The longhaired exorcist looked at the redhead unimpressed.

"Seriously Lavi, how do we know you won't try to molest her or something," Allen agreed dully. Anya squinted confusedly at the accused, watching his forehead miraculously start to sweat.

"What! No, uh," he scoffed, trying to deny their claims. "Swear t'god I won't try anything, seriously!" He tried itching his neck around Allen's arm, but the other boy smiled smugly, enjoying the whole thing. He eventually had to remove his arm though, pressing the other one against the wall for support.

"At least short-stack has a few manners, you're just as bad as bad as your namesake, Bunny-boy." The girl's brothers looked on nervously, slightly catching on to what they were hinting at.

The redhead sighed exasperatedly, tucking his hands behind his head and stepping towards Allen's door. "Alright, I see how it is. C'mon kiddies, I'm hungry," he swiped a card through a box on the door, then swung it open and walked in.

They immediately called for room service, seeing as how everyone was seriously wishing for one food or another.

"Maybe some soba about now…"

"I dunno, I kinda want to try some of that Italian stuff. Spaghetsi, right?" Anya scratched at her chin, serving out food for the cats.

"Gesundheit." The girl hit her older brother playfully. The food came a few minutes later when everyone was settled, though there was no spaghetti. The siblings all dug into the bread sticks happily, glad there were something they recognized. Allen got his own cart, and barely respecting the fact that people were watching, he started shovelling down food as politely as he could. Anya saw this and felt her jaw loosen.

"Guys…," she pointed shakily at the vacuum scene. Isaiah deliberately gaped, then started laughing with his sister. The look Allen gave them was enough to make them laugh even harder, forgetting to choke on the breadsticks. Mikel shrugged it off, though every so often he would spare a glance at the younger exorcist.

"Ahahaha, aha… Oh geez, there's shrimp too?" The frizzy haired girl snatched out the selected tray, eagerly grabbing a nearby fork and serving herself. Soon their whole company was satisfied with the dinner, and Lavi rolled the carts out into the hallway. Kanda left without a word, probably to avoid a social confrontation (emo!). Mikel followed a moment later after wishing his family a good night. Isaiah later set up a bag in a far corner of the bathroom. The shorter (stop that!) exorcist asked what it was for, after having peered into the space.

"Cat crap," the boy shrugged. Allen silently 'oh'ed, watching for another moment before turning in to his room again. He went to the satchel where it was resting on his bed, hesitating before lifting the flap. But Yani wasn't there.

"What, did you expect him to still be there?" Allen jerked his head to the side, looking at Anya nervously.

He very nearly stuttered his response. "Uh well, I think it would be better if we knew where he was, for Tim's sake…," he trailed off, an anxious appearance slowly overcoming his features.

"Who-," the girl was cut off by a strange tangled sound coming from under the bed. The boy scrambled forward, digging through his suitcase beneath the mattress. Seconds later, his arm pulled out, clamping onto something golden. The Savannah hungrily held on by what looked like the golden thing's tail, and Allen dragged him out, too. Anya stepped forward, holding onto her cat until he decided to let go, instead vying to drape himself over her shoulder precariously.

"Meet Timcanpy," Allen introduced the golden bird thing unenthusiastically. The creature revealed two rows of intensely sharp teeth, smugly latching onto the boy's nose. He retaliated slightly, trying to pinch him loose. "Ow, dammit-," Anya had the tail between her fingers, causing the golden ball to turn around in irritation.

She held it close to her face curiously. "I can't talk to him, what is it?"

"A golem." She looked at him with her eyebrow raised. "We use them as communication devices. He's a special one though, since Master changed him up a little." She waved off the second part, squinting studiously at the golem. He seemed to stare right back, even though he had no eyes. His wings didn't move too much, he was basically hovering there waiting to get his tail back. When the staring contest couldn't seem to get any tenser, Anya shrugged dismissively and released the tail, while Timcanpy flapped forward and nestled into her frizzy hair. Allen looked on perplexedly, but eventually dismissed his surprise and addressed the girl.

"So where'd Lavi go?" She looked up at him blankly, and an evil look seemed to flash across her face.

She drawled out, "Oh I dunno, I think he was hittin' it off with that room service lady last I checked. Might wanna make sure he's not breeding." She grinned broadly at the thought, hoping she got to kick him in check.

Allen almost slapped himself, but instead chose to ignore the apprentice. "Right, well, forget I asked that. He can go back on his own, and… yeah," he looked around the room, looking like he'd lost something. She looked around too, careful not to knock Yani from her shoulder. She asked the boy what he was doing, and he stopped instantly. "Sorry, uh—so you can take the bed if you want, and Isaiah should probably get to Lavi's room. We do have a mission tomorrow, right?" He gave her a lopsided grin, which didn't exactly match the rest of his expression, but she let it roll.

"Okey, if ya say so. Issy! We have to go to bed, what the crap are you doing in there?" The kid poked his head out of the door and eagerly followed Kitty out into the bedroom.

"Don't call me that. Do we get night clothes or anything?" Anya's brother flapped his shirt for emphasis. The white haired boy slipped past him and into the bathroom, eventually emerging with two sets of plain white pyjamas, most likely supplied by the inn. Isaiah left the room with the clothing after saying 'night night' to the company of four. The girl claimed the bathroom first, as per Allen's policy. While waiting for the bathroom to open up, he set up a makeshift bed of towels and spare blankets on the floor a few feet from the bed.

Soon the door opened, releasing only a minimal amount of steam. Anya carried out her dirty clothes under her arm with the Savannah being carried in her other. She was smiling a bit smugly, and taking a closer look at the cat, he realized why. _Poor kitty, _he offered in his mind. He left his bed as it was, pulling out a spare pair of pants for the night. He heard heartbroken groaning coming from the hallway and could only assume who it was.

"Lavi?" He nodded to her, walking across the floor to the bathroom. Anya thought she'd heard the suddenly passive exorcist say something like 'damn bunny breeders' before he shut the door behind him. She snorted to herself, stuffing her dirty clothes under the bed. Kitty crawled in after them, realizing she hadn't been there yet. The girl hefted the other cat up to her face playfully, cooing to him. "You're not so hormonal, are you Yani-poo?" Said cat peered at her blearily, looking ready to fall asleep right there. She scoffed at him, carrying him back over to the satchel and tucking him inside. He immediately began filling out the bag, occasionally kneading at the bottom.

When Anya heard the shower being turned on, she started feeing a little droopy herself. Without upset, she rolled into the extremely plush bed, stretching out onto her stomach. Kitty joined her after she had fallen asleep, curling up on the mattress next the pillow.

Allen left the bathroom shortly after brushing his teeth. He wondered if he should be finding the girl a toothbrush, but decided against it when he saw she was already snoring softly. The boy was slightly relieved at his, having worried about her possible reaction to his arm. He knew she hadn't seen it when they were on the hammer, since he was seated behind them.

He quietly pulled the sheet up to his shoulder after having put his day clothes away. He just about fell asleep when he suddenly became aware of the sheets rustling at his feet. Looking down, he saw the Savannah cat tentatively stepping over his legs that were under the blanket, eventually making his way towards Allen's chest with Timcanpy between his teeth. Pretending not to notice them, the boy rested his eyelids shut until he could only see a cloud of what they were doing. Yani paused next to his face, and Allen felt more than saw the cat sniffing his cheek curiously. He went away after awhile, only to climb up and drape himself over the side of the boy's stomach. Tim didn't protest at all for being carried around like deadweight, and when the cat went to sleep, he shuffled forward to nestle himself in the crook of his master's neck.

* * *

><p>Okay maybe there were quite a bit of mistakes... but whatever. At least you meet everybody.<br>Mikel: Mee-kel  
>Isaiah: Eye-zay-uh<br>Anya: Ahn-ya  
>Yani: Yah-nee<br>I realize there might be a few problems with Mikel's name, what with Tyki Mikky and all that. But it fit, so BOOM.

If you have any questions, ask! I don't want people being too clueless, but there are some things that I will refuse to explain D If you liked the chap, review! Or whatever it is you're supposed to do... yeah whatever.


	3. Gimme a Mission

This chapter is where the story gets moving... a little. Not really. Just the standard "oh geez i forgot she's a new exorcist hey she needs to know stuff!" Except that it ends on a cliffy. Did I mention it ends on a cliffy.

Disclaimer: Do I look like I own anything? Scratch that, do I sound like I own anything other than some stupid new characters and the plot? Thought not. By the way no. I do not.

* * *

><p>Allen awoke in the morning only half-conscious of the fact that Yani was now curled up against his chest. The girl was nudging at his shoulder and saying something, but he was too sleepy to know what. Unaware of what he was doing for the most part, Allen reached up a hand to brush off both of hers'. He mumbled for more sleep and was about to tuck his hand back under the blanket when she unexpectedly grabbed his fingers.<p>

"Holy crap," he heard her breathe. Damn him and his sleepiness. The boy quickly tried to cover his tracks, slipping the fingers from her light grasp. He almost felt like banging his head into the pillow in frustration. Wake up BEFORE her so she doesn't get the wrong idea. That's what he'd said he would do, and now she was probably curling her lip at him from where she stood behind him. "Can, uh… can I see that?" He blinked. What?

Allen laid there on his side for a few more seconds, letting it register further. Oh wait, she _wanted_ to see his arm. Right. That whole concept was out of whack. He gradually pushed himself up, twisting around into a sitting position. He found Anya still standing somewhat expectantly, hands on her knees. His arm rose and skirted over the sheet towards her, palm down.

She narrowed an eye at him and snorted teasingly. The girl nabbed the outstretched arm impatiently, almost doubling over when he blinked furiously upon contact. She fell back onto her bum, careful not to pull Allen with her. Holding the palm out in front of her face, she tested the joints and knuckles experimentally. When she bent his fingers, the girl could swear she felt them groaning and stressing under the coarse blood-red skin. She pressed her thumb into the palm and just barely witnessed the color lighten slightly before its previous hue was restored.

Anya picked at the black nails half-heartedly before her attention was pulled to a slight green glow. The boy seemed to get a little more nervous when her finger grazed over the crystal and nerves surrounding it, and she felt his hand itching to pull back. When she let go willingly only a moment later, he was a but surprised she'd complied so easily. The arm retreated back towards Allen's body uncertainly.

The girl wasn't about to let it hang there; she was fuckin' curious. "After I'm done changing, you're explaining this whole Headquarters crap. Got me?" The exorcist grinned at her sheepishly, nodding his assent. She 'hmphed' at him in a satisfied manner before crawling under the bed to get her clothes. A moment later she was pulling out quickly, rearing her face away from the bed. The girl spat at Kitty irately, whose tail could be seen and heard swishing across the carpet under the bed. "Have some manners, dumby! Tryin' to get fuckin' dressed here…" Anya swept past the bed with her clothes angrily, almost slamming the door to the bathroom shut.

Allen wasted no time getting dressed, and afterwards generously draped the thin blanket over Yani's curled up body. He heard an indecisive silence from the bathroom, calling to Anya that she could come in. As soon as she stepped through, she started the questioning.

"Okay, so what is it the headquarters _of_?" She rolled up the used pajamas and tossed them on the straightened-out bed.

"The Black Order," he answered almost automatically. At her waving hand, he explained further. "We are an organization under the Pope created to counter the Millennium Earl. The Earl is the manufacturer of Akuma and head of the Noah family." When he looked up, he saw that Anya didn't show any recognition of the word 'demon.' He continued, "Akuma are machines with deceased human souls chained to them…"

The girl blinked jerkily from her seat in front of him. "Oh, no way in _hell _am I believing that." Allen sighed.

"I'm not lying," he smiled a little at the dubious way she looked at him. He leaned forward like he was about to tell a story. "Alright, so think of it like this. The Earl finds someone trying to get over the death of a loved one, yes?"

"Okay…"

"The Earl then asks them, 'Oh you poor, unfortunate human, don't you detest your deceitful God for taking this person away from you? Wouldn't you like to bring them back from his insatiable clutches?'"

"Those are some big words there, Al."

"Well, the Earl does have a pretty nice vocabulary…" Anya facepalmed. He scratched at his cheek absently. "A-Anyway, then he tells the person, 'All you have to do is say their name and they'll come right back from the dead,' and then he shows the person a skeleton, which we call a Level 0 Akuma. When the name is called, the soul is attached to the skeleton and their name is written on the back of its head."

The girl rubbed at her nose. "This is starting to sound really complicated, Kitty." The silver tabby chirped sardonically, obviously not paying attention to the story. "Dumb-butt."

Allen grinned at the slightly one-sided communication, continuing into the details. "The catch is that the soul that is brought back is under the Earl's control. The Akuma is ordered to kill the one who called them and wear their skin." Anya's face scrunched up sourly. "So they do that, and then the skeleton with the soul climb into the skin."

"Oh, ew! You didn't have to say it like thaaaat," she grimaced animatedly.

He shrugged helplessly. "It's not like there's any other way to say it." His gaze became more leveled with what he said next. "The Earl knows no limits, he will do anything in his power to destroy Innocence. It's our job to find it, and if it is synchronized with someone already, that person becomes an Exorcist."

She leaned towards the other eagerly. "So what kinda super powers do other exorcists have?" Allen somewhat got the idea that this was a game to her, and he was being played like a fool.

Nevertheless, he decided to play along for a little. It wasn't like their lives were in danger yet, and she was still a child (coughshorterthanhimcough). Being too serious probably wouldn't put him on her nice list. "Well, you saw some of what Lavi can do, right?" She bobbed her head. "He can also control nature with his hammer," she grinned, shaking with disbelieving laughter. "Kanda's sword is his Innocence, and it can cut through pretty much anything. We also have Miranda, who can temporarily control time. Krory's Innocence is in his teeth—"

"Like a wolf?" Anya butted in excitedly.

Allen smiled crookedly. "Naw, I'd say more like a vampire." Her mouth dropped open jestingly. "There's a few others too, but I haven't exactly met them yet," he twisted at the blanket he was seated on. "But we do have the Generals, five of them."

"And they're Exorcists too?" The girl questioned him, trying to pull Kitty onto her lap. The cat refused for a while, but finally stopped scratching and fell into the circle of her crossed legs.

The boy nodded, not exactly knowing how to explain them. "They're supposed to be really powerful, but I've only met, uh… one," he trailed off distractedly. Anya narrowed an eye, but didn't push the topic.

"But you said the Earl was something else too, right?" He looked up at her quickly, not even realizing he'd been staring at the floor.

"Hmm—oh, yeah! He's the head of the Noah family." Not a very sufficient answer.

She twisted her face at him, looking slightly amused. "And who the hell are they!"

_Ah, she's getting a kick out of this_. "They call themselves God's true apostles, and they work for the Earl to destroy Innocence. All of them can control the Akuma to do whatever they want." He paused to think about what he would say next. "But they're not always easy to spot. I only know one other than the Earl, and to anyone else, she's just an ordinary human. I'm guessing they all have their normal human forms, but also Noah appearances."

This was getting messy again. "Appearances? That means they look different sometimes, right?"

"Yes, and their Noah forms are very easy to spot in a crowd. Road had grey skin when we saw her, and her eyes turned gold. And if you ever saw someone smile like that…," Allen shivered slightly, "…you'd know they were Noah." Anya wanted to see that smile.

Allen's thin bed sheet rustled for a moment, then rose with the body under it. The Savannah under it navigated unknowingly into the boy's side, making him snort laughingly. He lifted the sheet for Yani, watching the cat's almost baffled expression as he crouched in mid-stride. There was a pause, after which the feline abruptly leapt onto Allen's legs, consequently ramming his head into a knee. The white haired boy almost jumped at the unexpectedness of the action, instead collectedly folding the lean cat into his arms.

Anya _had_ jumped when Yani ran into the boy's knee, worried to some extent that her cat was definitely not over his bug. She aimed her next thoughts at him. _Damn, Yani. Chi~ill out. _The Savannah mewled at her on the outside, obviously complaining that his head was too confused to talk back. "Sorry, Papi," she leaned over and scrubbed his skull in a friendly manner. Allen uncertainly ran his fingers along the spotted fur, his legs tense under the cat's body.

After a few minutes of just sitting there in silence, someone's stomach decided to announce its emptiness. "Yeah, I guess we need to order breakfast. Want to wake up the others?" Anya bobbled her head around, pretending to not want to. "Right, right," Allen laughed, gathering up Yani. The cat took the hint, dragging himself over Allen's shoulder to hang from. "I'll call downstairs, what did you want to eat?"

"Eh, whatever sounds good, I guess. I'll be back," and then she left, a flash of gold following behind her right before the door swung shut. Ten minutes later, Mikel and Anya both tumbled through the door, wrestling at each other's throats in an almost animalistic manner. They only way you could tell they were playing was if you heard the sister's squealing at being mercilessly tickled. Poor Timcanpy had been caught in the crossfire, trying to disentangle himself from the girl's frizzy locks. Isaiah and the remaining exorcists strode in only a few seconds later, Kanda doing so with less vigor than the other two. Breakfast came quickly, rolling in on two carts again. Lavi gave a flattering thanks to the maid, and everyone ate.

Anya found herself staring at a plate of some kind of cake thing with icing striped along the top. "So uh, Allen… what's this again?" The boy looked up from his incredibly topping plate of pancakes, muffins, and bacon quiche.

"It's Cheese Danish, I promise it's really good," he tried assuring her through the rather unnerving mouthful of food in his mouth. She thought the pastry looked a little too soft for her tastes, but when she tried just a miniscule bite, her brain sparked. In a half-minute flat, the Danish was being replaced by another larger piece, and that disappeared, too.

"Whoever the hell… made this stuff up... IS A GENIUS!" She bothered Mikel into trying some, while Isaiah was already taking the hint and serving himself. The elder seemed pretty satisfied with his quiche, but he did try a bite. Allen leaned back before all of them had finished, completely satisfied with his personal breakfast cart, and the muffins.

Lavi spoke conversationally around his omelet, "So, beany-sprout—"

"Yes, Lavi ginger Bookman?"

The redhead dodged the bullet. "_Ha ha_. Anyway, I was wonderin' how we're going to do the mission with these guys," he gestured to the siblings. Anya sniffed in annoyance, insulted at his obvious disregard of her status.

"That's the thing, Lavi; I think she might be a help. If it's an Akuma, we can just deal with it on the spot." Kanda grunted at that approach. "But if it really is a beast, Anya could ask it to stop and we'll work from there." The girl sat up straighter to support his point.

But the apprentice countered, "And what about Isaiah and Mikel?" The younger exorcist's expression faltered. Anya saw the look and came to a decision herself.

"They can stay with the cats, right? 'Cuz they don't have Innocence to fight with," she added as an afterthought. Mikel adopted a weary look, but Isaiah spoke for them passively.

"Yeah, we'll stay," he winked at his sister, finishing off the crust of his Danish. She grinned at him cheekily, appreciating his consent. Lavi okayed the idea, and everyone went to get ready. Allen offered her a spare coat from the Order, but she declined, saying she wouldn't be able to move around as well…, "Plus it's really freakin' hot outside."

The three exorcists and their tag-along departed from the hotel after a few quick good-byes. Lavi decided they would take off from the same area they landed in under the cover of trees. Anya found herself a little more prepared for the hammer, but not so much that she didn't flip over again. Allen held up her torso while she rolled back onto the handle. He thought he heard her laughing again.

After awhile, Anya thought she would try something. _Psst, Allen? Testing, 1-2-3, testing. Allen, you there man? _She didn't hear anything back, and then she remembered something. _If you wanna talk back, all you hafta do is imagine talking to me face-to-face. And if you send them nice and clear, pictures work, too. _

Allen was a little bewildered at the sudden turn of events. Didn't she say she talked to animals? But then again, humans could be considered animals, too. He couldn't see any reason not to at least try making the connection. _Anya? _Well, that wasn't enough. _This is the Noah I met before, this is Road. _He thought of the Noah's face when she had been so close to him, then when she'd been leaning on the chair with Lenalee, and finally when she'd told the Akuma to self-destruct.

The girl jumped at the images being sent, not nearly expecting someone to be so scary- looking. The first one was very deliberate, Road's grin stretching inhumanly across her shadow of a face, hungry eyes mocking and shrieking with laughter. The others were more toned down, but Anya could see why the Noah were so feared.

_With the first one, how come she didn't kill you? She was right there, she coulda done it. _What she meant was that Road looked creepy enough to kill him, but that would've been mean.

Allen shrugged, then remembered Anya couldn't see him. _She plays with her food before she eats it. _He almost regretted the sadistic phrasing.

They conversed a little more on their little connection, trying it out on the other two as well. Lavi almost fell off his own hammer, and the swordsman poked his weapon into the smaller boy's back threateningly. He heeded the message, but he still heard Anya prodding at Kanda mockingly.

By the time the short ride to Istanbul came to an end, Allen had learned that Anya's favorite color was orange, she was 8 years old, and that both of her brothers were (unfortunately) older than her. He also barely caught the fact that Jordan was their home country, but she seemed uncertain on the matter.

In town, they busied themselves with asking people about the phenomenon, but everyone had either never heard about it or waved them lazily towards the edge of the city. Most didn't even speak English, and Lavi had to be the one to ask. One irritated man literally shoved them towards the outskirts of Istanbul, yelling gruffly at them to solve their own problems.

When they did finally end up where the man had shoved them to, no one was around. I'm not joking either, there was, quite literally, NO ONE around. The houses were silent, the streets were sadly deserted, and nothing so much as shook in the humid air. Anya pointed out an abandoned sack of potatoes, some spilled out in the direction of the city. It looked like someone had just dropped it and ran, forgetting about the now molding vegetables.

Standing at the edge of the forest, Allen began questioning the idea of going into it. "We'd be stupid if we just went in without knowing what we're up against. Those townspeople weren't any help at all…," Kanda tsked at their misfortune. Lavi offered to go up and see if he could find the creature, and everyone agreed for lack of any other idea.

At the last minute, Anya grabbed onto the hammer, too. She heard Allen protest as they rose up above the dew-covered treetops, but she didn't look back down. The Bookman apprentice started when he felt the girl's hold on his boot, but he just laughed and turned back to the view.

They towered over the leaves and branches, trying to peer through them to the forest floor. There were only a few patches of light that were able to reach the bottom, but even those were difficult to see through. Even so, Lavi cried out in excitement when he saw something flash from under the foliage. The girl searched intently for what he had seen, but when she found nothing, she disappointedly proposed getting back to the others.

When they came back to ground level, Lavi was already gushing on about what he'd seen. He happily repeated it to Allen. "Aw you shoulda seen it, buddy! There was this white-ish thing that just slipped by, I could barely even see it! But it wasn't like a monkey or anything, I think it looked kinda shiny," he droned on about what he thought it might be, but his friend wouldn't hear any of it.

"Lavi, do you think it was _dangerous_ is what I want to know," the white haired boy glanced at Anya worriedly, second guessing the idea of bringing her with them.

The redhead didn't seem to notice the look. "Well sure, short-stuff, plenty dangerous enough for us! Maybe it's a Level 2, those are always interesting," his face looked thoughtful. Allen narrowed his eyes at him, earning an innocent look in return. "What! I'm just telling you what I think, why don't you go in and see for yourself?"

The younger boy frowned at Lavi. "Alright then. I will. And YOU are guarding her," he pointed at Anya.

"Nehhh, that's not fair!" Allen raised his eyebrow. The redhead found himself reconsidering his answer. What would Mikel do if his sister came back all bloodied up? "… Alright fine, just make sure to keep an eye out too, girly."

Anya immediately latched onto his sleeve, ignoring his whines as she dragged him towards the forest. "Oh you be quiet, Monsieur Bodyguard. I'll be keeping _two_ eyes out." She laughed at him as he quickly caught on to what she was implying.

"Oh, I see what you did there." She started another round of cackling. The dark-haired exorcist groaned at the indirect torture of having to be with a lot of idiots at once, while Allen was still trying to understand the joke.

As soon as they stepped foot on the forest floor, their feet disappeared beneath the underbrush. The girl began fretting about how bugs could easily climb onto her legs since she wore capris, but Lavi told her to chill out. "Or would you rather get a piggy back ride?" Remembering the idiot's reputation, she quickly declined.

They spread out by a few feet, tackling most of the forest in about an hour. Almost immediately, they discovered the amount of actual trees was very sparse, but the vines and undergrowth balanced it out. They only had to walk straight for a few hundred yards before they ran into the sea, but walking along it took much longer.

"Ehh, this is definately one of our more boring missions. Akuma are supposed to be looking for _us_," the redhead complained obnoxiously, no longer being hauled around. Anya pinched him exasperatedly, wishing this would all be over with. _Not only is it crazy humid, it's fucking freezing in here._ Allen heard the thought and sent her a picture of how he remembered Jordan in all its dry and hot weathered glory. The girl giggled loudly, drawing the attention of the other two.

"Oh nothing, nothing," she answered their unasked question. She grinned in Allen's general direction when they weren't looking, watching his eyes crinkle mischieviously.

Suddenly the same eyes snapped away, losing the glint they'd had before. Anya recognized the look, grabbing Lavi's wrist before he could pass. But he was already watching the same area of interest his friend was. When she lookd back at Kanda, she realized the man had probably been the first to notice. His hand was itching toward Mugen almost cautiously, and Lavi was already holding his hammer out.

Anya didn't like how this was going. Her companions were all radiating vigilance, which couldn't be sending the still-invisible beast a good message. She decided to make the first move, calling out in her mind. _Hey, whoever's out there, we don't want any issues, okay? If you've been scaring those people, we just want you to kind of stop it… hello?_ The exorcists were all looking at her to be quiet, but Kanda was more glaring than asking. Even so, they waited to see if anything would respond.

* * *

><p>an: Haha, LOOK, fools! Look at my cliffy!

That only sounded mildly inappropriate.


	4. Dragon Heart

a/n: Let's just say I felt bad about makig it a cliffy (even tho duh, it's a cliffy). So I updated real quick. Plus dammit, I'm not getting squat reviews. If you actually read this, I DON'T CARE IF YOU FLAME. SERIOUSLY, JUST CLICK REVIEW. ugh. I am satisfied now 83

Disclaimer: yeahno.

* * *

><p>It happened quietly, so quietly that if you weren't looking, you probaby wouldn't even notice the change. But all four of them were watching, and all of them saw the white, shiny skin that Lavi mentioned. It rose out of the ground not unlike how a ghost would rise from a body, except they could all tell it was definitely alive. The smooth-looking skin stretched along a long, lithe body, ending at a heavily feathered tail. The 'beast's' limbs were short and boney, but even the girl could tell they were almost as long as her own legs. The claws looked pretty intimidating, too. The thing's neck was the first feature to surface, and at the end was a long, narrow head where peered a set of steely black eyes.<p>

_What do I call you, Mr. Dragon?_ Allen's eyes widened, more than they had been while the creature was rising. He looked back at the girl disbelievingly, but she only shrugged. Kitty had told her how she thought there might be dragons in the world, so she had considered it. Lo and behold! Her cat was really smart, apparently.

_To—Tu… Tuloos. Tuloos. _Anya was a little surprised at that. He acted like he couldn't even remember his name, let alone pronounce it correctly in his mind. She then remembered that Allen and the others couldn't hear him back, so she spoke for him. "He's Tuloos." Thinking again, she added, "I don't think he's a threat, so be nice." The intimidating man behind her scoffed mockingly.

"Right, a dragon is _definitely_ not a threat." She scowled back at him, ready to throw him a well-constructed string of curse words (WCSCW), but the boy closest to the dragon found himself agreeing with her.

He spoke quietly, "Kanda, look at him." That's all Allen needed to say. At approximately the same moment, Lavi, Anya, and Kanda all became aware of the creature's stance. His neck, a frightening six feet long, curved upward and down toward the undergrowth. The head was turned away from them to some extent, giving the impression that he was watching them, but his own eyes contradicted it. The chary way they shifted between the exorcists was enough to say he didn't know what to do.

The beast's dark gaze stayed on Allen for the longest. _Cursed boy, should I kill him? Don't you know?_ The girl was startled when he spoke again, but he sounded increasingly fearful of Allen. Did she know he was cursed, Tuloos had asked her.

She heard herself asking out loud, "Allen's cursed?" The younger exorcist whirled around to face her, fear washing onto his face. He didn't want her to know. Not yet, at least. How had the dragon even known it was a curse and not just a mark? Had he seen the pentacle…?

Time sped against him this time. Tuloos was suddenly hunting him, lowering his head and neck towards the forest floor, his growls rumbling through the humid air. The boy could almost hear the thing break into a roar, asking him how he had the devil's signature on his face. Before he could control it, his voice was saying, "Mana…" Then his feet weren't buried in the undergrowth anymore. The dragon's snout was open and driving into his chest and stomach, lauching him upwards and back with the force of it. There was a sickening moment where Allen realized what was happening, and how Crowned Clown was too late to be of any help. The creature's muzzle hadn't left him, and at the last possible moment, he saw hate, terror, and panic scraping across its face.

When his body grounded with the dragon still forcing him down, the breath in his lungs literally snapped out of him. Without hesitation, the lethal fangs were breaking through his skin, ravaging the helpless material that used to be his shirt and coat, then digging straight into his skin. Without even knowing, a scream was tearing through him and into the dense forest air. The sensation of having his stomach ripped and shredded open made him writhe in agony, but he couldn't feel it letting up. He saw blood- _his_ blood—as it spashed onto nearly every surface around him. As he began to think the pain would last an eternity, the feeling of immense desperation welled up in his rapidly marring chest. No one was coming; he was being eaten alive and no one was coming to save him.

Then the bloody-jawed creature was twisting away from him, moving his snout away so quickly its victim's body jerked to the side, pooling out blood mercilessly. He couldn't see a damn thing but the ground in front of him and the blood soaking into it. Everything was happening too quickly. Either that, or his body just couldn't process what had happened. He heard someone breathing, but the sounds were raucous and guttural. He couldn't hear anything but that and his heart throbbing in his ears and out of the gaping wounds.

Anya was being pulled away, probably by the red haired apprentice. In her mind's eye, she imagined what Tuloos had looked like before he attacked, when he'd just come to the surface of the earth. He hadn't seemed so vicious then, but it must've been his nature to react like that. With one last ignorance of Allen's pleading screams, she shouted for the dragon in her mind. Everything felt sickly still as the beast jerked his great head towards her, but her stomach churned when the boy's form moved with it. It was revolting, how dead he looked. But he wasn't dead, and that made it more nauseating. She could see his inner organs shine with the blood that seemed to almost endlessly spill out. It was like watching a glass of milk drop and shatter, splotching the tablecloth it had collided with.

Then Lavi was forcing her into a run, their feet flying through the plant-life, over clumps of undergrowth. The girl forgot to think about her friend. She watched the tree trunks blur by and wondered why Kanda wasn't coming with them. "Gotta get you hidden… I don't care what you say, that thing nearly ate Allen alive," Lavi thought aloud as they ran.

He abruptly stopped, pulling her back towards one of the trees he'd seen. He dragged her down into a crouching position, and was already whispering frantically. "You have to stay here, I'm gunna go back up Yuu and see if we can do anything about the dragon. Anya, don't go anywhere," he repeated sternly, hoping to God that she would actually follow through. Her breath caught up with her and she nodded, feeling him ruffle her hair before he left.

This whole thing was crazy. This exorcist charade, that Innocence stuff, and when the hell did dragons start existing? Everything came back and made itself known with a slam to her head. _Here I was in Jordan with Mikel and Isaiah and Kitty and Yani, and now here I _am_ running for my fucking life like some rabbit._ That brought up Lavi's nickname, which made her scrunch up her nose. Yeah, they really had grown on her.

She tried listening for the two battling exorcists, but they were definitely too far away. In fact, the air felt rather chilly with the absence of any sound at all. She waited for several minutes, wondering how long a battle like this usually lasted. Maybe it would take hours, or had they ever fought for days on end?

Finally, the girl was done waiting. Screw Lavi, as long as she stayed out of trouble, she'd be fine, right? Besides, Tuloos just got spooked. If she explained herself, maybe she could cool him off. That's what she had in mind when she made her mental connection with him.

_Tuloos? I don't know where you are but seriously, can't you leave them alone? Is that why people are scared of you?_ She didn't expect an answer in return, but she'd be damned if she didn't try.

The girl waited several more minutes for anything to happen at all. But when it did, she took it for granted. The wind from a whole mile away started whistling with the passage of something large and ferocious. She didn't think about the fact that before then, there hadn't been any wind at all. The moist air had stood in place around the trees, with no breeze to change its course. As a result, she found herself frozen in place when Tuloos flew towards her from the depths of the forest, jaws wide and grimy with Allen's blood.

The beast made a terrible gurgling roar in his throat as he sped towards her. In one moment, her senses caught up with her and took a picture of the dragon's deadly gait. In the next, he was only yards away, and she was yowling something at him that she had no control over.

Tuloos dodged her tree. The bark sprayed onto her as his long body flitted past, brushing heavily against the trunk. Anya couldn't believe he'd spared her in the first place. As soon as his tail last scraped the wood, she was up and running towards him. His body skidded into the ground at having to halt so quickly, folding around several trees in the process. Her feet pounded into the softened ground, leading her towards his head.

_I didn't know, I didn't know!_ She heard the dragon berating himself in his thoughts, and even on the outside, he was snarling in frustration. The girl knew he wouldn't attack again and reached her arms around his neck.

_It's fine Tuloos, but we need to go help Allen, alright?_ She briefly wondered if Lavi and Kanda made it out with their heads, but she would find out soon enough. Her legs scrambled onto his neck as he took flight again, curling his limbs closer to his body. They hovered only a couple feet from the ground, swerving by the scenery. In no time at all, they were back where she had left the exorcists. Tuloos slowed down this time, digging his claws into the ground as Anya rolled off his neck.

Before she even got there, the young girl could hear Allen's muffled cries of pain that disturbed the otherwise silent woodland. She found Lavi crouched over him, trying to do something about the ever-growing mass of blood while Kanda stood guard. When she got there, it took everything to keep her from screaming right there.

Allen had a hole in his stomach. There was no exaggerating the fact; there was literally a chunk of his torso missing. He shouldn't have even been alive, but here he was losing fatal amounts of blood that wept from the jagged flaps of skin. It was a terrible sight to behold, but the Bookman apprentice was still attempting to fix it.

"Anya, start getting his coat in pieces," the redhead had out a canteen of water and was sparingly washing out the wounds on his chest. She nervously knelt down and clamped her hand onto Allen's shoulder, trying to ignore the tears streaming down his face. She felt some sting at her eyes too when she started tearing off pieces of his exorcist uniform. They began piling up next to her, and she started noticing Lavi taking some away every few seconds. She watched as he dabbed at the edges of the larger wound, only to be replaced by more blood. Finally, he gave up and jerked off his own coat, laying it over the damaged body.

"What're we gunna do," Anya found herself sobbing into her arm, knowing everything they tried to do would be useless in the long-run.

Lavi had already thought out a plan, but he still doubted Allen would make it out alive. "I'll take him back to the Order, you and Kanda need to do something about that dragon." The girl didn't understand what he was implying, Tuloos was right over there…

"But Tuloos isn't bad anymore, can't me and him take Allen to the Order?" Lavi furrowed his brow at her; it still confused her seeing him this serious.

"Not bad? He chewed out his stomach!" The older boy looked at her exasperatedly. She gave up on him and exhaled loudly, turning him towards the dragon. Kanda was standing guard near the beast, daring it to attack. When she called out to the dragon, Tuloos anxiously slid past the swordsman to her, making Lavi stumble backwards in shock. "The hell you will Anya, that thing'll kill him! You don't even know where Headquarters is!"

She felt her chin scrunch up with the threat of an oncoming sob. "Then why can't we take him back to the city!"

"Because they don't have any damn hospital! Not good enough to handle Allen, anyway." All he'd seen in the city were family-owned medicine houses, but nothing official. Who would accept a cursed child, anyway?

The girl growled in her throat, the tears running streaks on her skin. This whole thing was dumb. Lavi didn't trust Tuloos, didn't trust her, and now Allen wouldn't even survive because Bookman Junior was being a stubborn asswipe. How Allen managed to survive this long with someone so distrusting was beyond her. It's not like everyone had to go back to the hotel, only one of them had to go with her…

"Kanda! Kanda can go with me!" She tried one last argument, hoping Lavi would give in this time. The redhead blinked. That idea had totally soared right over his head.

"Yuu?" The man whirled around, not liking how he was being depended on… by a lot of idiots.

"No," he spoke plainly.

"Yes! C'mon, Allen's gunna die unless you hurry up and take us to Headquarters!" Was he really more stubborn than Lavi?

"Yeah Yuu, don't be the one responsible for—"

"I dare you to say my name again," Mugen was suddenly right at Lavi's neck.

The redhead was a little put out. "Alright, sorry! Just hurry up and make sure beansprout doesn't die on us," the sword was put away a second later. Then, without much regard for his wellbeing, Kanda lifted their teammate from the soiled ground. A hoarse yell was ripped from his throat, only to be stifled as Anya clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shhh, shut up! We're going home already, okay?" Tuloos came closer upon hearing the plan. His stocky limbs bent under him as Kanda easily lifted the boy onto the dragon's back. The younger exorcist protested at being handled so ruthlessly, but the swordsman couldn't find it in himself to care. The girl climbed on behind Allen, with Kanda up front to lead them. They heard Lavi shout some kind of farewell before Tuloos lifted off.

She barely heard his voice when Allen gasped out, "T-Tim!"

"He's with Lavi, dumbass," Kanda's cold answer broke through the wind around them.

Anya felt like going up and stabbing him—multiple times—, but it didn't look like that would work out. Either that, or she could let fly a WCSCW, or flip him the bird... but he couldn't see her, or hear her. "Fuck."

As soon as they were out of the forest and rapidly picking up speed, the girl had to move up on Tuloos's back to hold down Allen's body with the coat covering him up to his neck. It was actually harder than you might think. The boy was already falling unconscious, and the jacket certainly didn't want to stay in place. Luckily all she had to do was tuck the jacket under him for it to stay, but she didn't know if him sleeping was a good thing or not.

_Is it okay for him to fall asleep?_ She hoped Lavi could hear the connection, but she didn't doubt he would.

He answered without her having to explain how. _Yeah, just make sure he doesn't fall off._ He even laughed a little in his mind. _Tell Yuu to contact Headquarters, make sure the infirmary is ready to pull an all-nighter._

She snorted at his obliviousness. _And how do we 'contact Headquarters,' Lavi?_

_Timcanpy._

_Stupid, Tim is with you._

_Oh… Oh!_ Then the connection broke, and Anya assumed he was either beating himself over the head or talking to the golem. Stupid Lavi is stupid.

The trip was starting to seem, quite frankly, very unnerving. It was almost like when they'd all been on Lavi's hammer, except she wasn't with her brothers this time. Kanda was the only conscious one besides herself and Tuloos, but she knew the swordsman didn't appreciate her voice in his head, and the dragon was probably concentrating. Allen was out cold, and Anya wondered if she'd be able to see his dreams. The idea had occurred to her before, but she hadn't really wanted to test it.

Hesitantly, she pushed her thoughts forward towards the boy. He seemed to be struggling to catch her attention as well, and she quickly grabbed the link. _Allen? What's going on?_ She started hearing several things at once, like scuffling and scraping on carpet, but that didn't make any sense.

Finally she did hear a voice, but it certainly wasn't Allen's. _What are you doing here, child?_ The hell? Was someone else in his head?

_I'm confused, so you better hurry up and tell me who you are._

She _really_ thought she felt the decidedly male voice smile. _You may call me Crowned Clown; I am Allen Walker's Innocence._

…_Holy cheese. How does that even work? Do other Innocences have brains, too?_

_We have consciousness, and we can control our existence to some extent._

_Friggin' cool. Oh, and to answer your question, I was kinda hoping to just take a little peek into Allen's dreams, no biggy. _

The Innocence seemed to be in patient mode when he said, _Child, you can't see anything if he doesn't send it to you. _

_Rats._

…_What shall I call you, young one?_

_Ha! He finally wants to know who I am! Oh, woops. Anyway I'm Anya, nice to meetcha, Mr. Crowned Clown. So uh, how is Allen doing?_

They both seemed to slip into a more serious mood. _He is dying, but I believe if he were to receive sufficient medical care, he would survive. _

Anya was quiet after that. Right now, Allen Walker was right in front of her, dying. Would he live long enough for them to get to the Order? That meant they had a goddamn deadline. _Thanks anyway, Crowny. _The voice didn't reply, but she had a feeling Allen would live if he was there.

* * *

><p>an: heeheeeeeee. GORE. I hope this chapter isn't the piece of complete shit I thought it was when I editted it (for the fifth time). RRRReview.


End file.
